How to Impress in Your New Job

You’ve passed the assessment centre impressed at interview and then received the incredible news that you have been offered the job. Good news!

Justifying Your Employer’s Selection

It can be such a welcoming surprise to be selected for a job that it’s easy to forget that this is just the beginning. The hard part starts now in terms of justifying your employer’s selection and ensuring that they made the correct decision. So, what are the best ways to impress your bosses and colleagues whilst simultaneously not coming across as a ‘goody-goody.’

One advantage you have is that you’ll have gained an idea of the ‘culture’ of the company whilst at interview. In fact, you may have had more than one interview and, perhaps, you’ll have attended an assessment centre as well. Therefore, you might have visited the company 2 or 3 times prior to being offered the job, so you’ll have some familiarity with the types of personalities who work there, the dress code they adopt and the general ‘mood’ of the environment in which you’ll be working – be it formal or informal.

Whilst it is important that you impress from day one, it’s also important that you ‘be yourself’ too. It’s easy to spot someone who’s trying hard to be somebody they’re not. You’ll have, no doubt, accepted the job on the basis of your first impressions of the staff and the workplace which you felt were positive. Therefore, you’ve no need to masquerade behind some kind of false persona in order to try to impress.

Your First Day

All employers want new recruits to show enthusiasm and to show that they care about their new role. Arriving a little earlier than your scheduled start time is always viewed positively. Even if that’s just to switch your computer on or to get a coffee from the canteen, it shows that you understand the work ethic and can be relied upon to get to work on time.

Look smart on your first day, unless you’ve been told to dress appropriately for the job you’re doing. Once you’ve been offered the job, it’s a good idea to give your new employer a call and to find out what the dress code is before your first day.

Having some knowledge about the company is good and be sure to ask any questions about aspects of your role that you’re unsure about. Employers and managers would much rather be asked several times what this or that means than for new recruits to just get on with it, not really knowing what to do. Many new recruits have cost companies thousands of pounds because they were not sure what was expected of them and didn’t bother to ask and have ended up doing things incorrectly.

Things You Should Constantly be Considering

Your new employer and your immediate colleagues will not expect you to have learned the ropes after your first day and neither should you. It can often take days, weeks and even months before you can start to feel confident in knowing what’s expected of you and how to meet those expectations. The important thing, however, is that you’re a keen and willing worker and that you make some progress each day, even if it feels only slight to you at first. Remember, all the experienced staff around you will have stood in your shoes themselves at one time and most of them will be only too willing to help you find your feet.

Be aware of what others are doing around you. Think about how you feel you can comfortably fit into the organisation and how you might be able to show some initiative within the role. Ask questions, even if there are lots to ask. Someone will usually be able to spare you the time to answer them.

Think about your role in relation to your colleagues’ roles and try to establish some ties with the person or people you feel are going to be best placed to help you.

Make sure you’re clear about what your specific role entails and what is expected of you. Quite often, you’ll have a mentor, or it may be your employer themselves, who will hold 1 to 1 meetings with you where you can define your role and work towards specific objectives that your boss will set.

Seek feedback on your performance. Criticism for criticism’s sake is simply a waste of time and can be quite cruel. However, a healthy dialogue of constructive criticism or advice from your mentor or boss is vital for you to perfect your role and fine tune it.

Be sure to listen more than you talk, especially in the early days. Whilst it is good that you are personable and can hold a conversation, the ability to listen is often a good way to get to know others and your role more easily.

Even in times of a setback, always maintain a positive focus. We all make mistakes at work from time to time, even experienced members of staff. This is how we often learn in general. When the workplace is under pressure, a positive ‘can-do’ attitude will help you overcome any unexpected hurdles.

Hi, I have been working in a care home for 3 weeks, I have never done this before so I am finding it difficult but I am always learning and improving, but today a nurse came to me and said that I need to be faster which I was trying to do, so I said I would become faster when I work, I knew we were behind but they were basically blaming me for being behind on our work. The only problem I have is senior staff members are meant to be helping and showing me but they go off and do something else without telling me. I am very confused and really don't want to lose my job.